Electronic Travel Authorisation and the Common Travel Area
Published:
August 13, 2020
Policy Area(s):Immigration
Keywords:Citizenship, Racism and Migrant Rights
From the recent immigration white paper (published December 2018), it is clear that the UK government intends to move towards an online immigration system, with applications, visa documents, and status checking taking place digitally. At the UK border, the use of e-gates and an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme is proposed.
What the immigration white paper fails to consider, however, is how a system of pre-clearance and border checks can apply within the Common Travel Area (CTA) and, particularly, across the NI/Ireland land border. Failure to address the nuances of the CTA when developing the scheme could lead to a variety of issues, which CAJ has highlighted in a new briefing note.
You can download the briefing here.